Women's Basketball opens 2021 season with tight 61-59 loss to Wilmington
By Tim Glon
ADA — The Ohio Northern women's basketball team went ice-cold in the third quarter and had a 4:20 scoring drought in the fourth quarter, yet still had a chance to win late in a 61-59 season-opening loss to Wilmington at the ONU Sports Center.
"I'm so proud of the way we kept fighting all night," first-year ONU head coach Mark Huelsman said after his first game at the helm of the Polar Bears. "We have not played a basketball game in more than 300 days. We looked good at times and rusty at other times, but we kept battling and playing hard and had a chance at the end."
Junior Kate Iliff (Lorain/Steele) led a balanced attack for ONU (0-1 overall, 0-1 Ohio Athletic Conference) attack with 10 points. Junior Molly Palecek (Wadsworth) and freshman Kristen Luersman (Fort Jennings) had nine points each and junior Lexi Jacobs (Wapakoneta) added eight points for ONU.
The Quakers (1-0, 1-0) had three players score in double figures led by McKayla Binkley with 17 points.
Jacobs nailed a 3-pointer with 44.1 seconds left in the game to end the long scoring drought and get Ohio Northern within 61-59.
ONU got a stop and had the ball with 30 seconds left with a chance to win.
Jacobs had a clean look at a 3-pointer with four second left bounce off the rim and WC held on for the win.
Northern led 32-26 at halftime, but made just 3-of-19 field goals in the third quarter as Wilmington outscored the hosts 16-7 to lead 44-41 heading into the fourth period.
ONU finished the game 21-of-59 from the floor for 35.6 percent and was 9-of-28 from 3-point range for 32.1 percent, while WC was 24-of-61 from the floor (39.3 percent) and 6-of-19 from beyond the arc (31.6 percent.)
Ohio Northern out-rebounded Wilmington 42-36, led by seven boards from Ward and junior Jaidyn Hale (Lima/Bath).
The Polar Bears and Quakers will battle again on Saturday night at 6 pm at Wilmington in the second game of the back-to-back home-and-home schedule the OAC has adopted for the 2021 season.
